Roasted Cauliflower Capellini a good centerpiece of a meatless dinner

Surprisingly enough, my daughters are crazy about cauliflower but only when it’s roasted. So this easy recipe from Sara Forte’s luscious new cookbook, “The Sprouted Kitchen,” was an easy sell. Cooking the veggie in high dry heat brings out its sweet, nutty flavor, and in pairing it with buttery pasta, Ms. Forte has created a dish we’ll want to toss together time after time.

This works well as a side dish or as the centerpiece of a meatless dinner. You can omit the hazelnuts if your kids aren’t fans.

Roasted Cauliflower Capellini

1 head cauliflower (about 3 pounds)

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2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp lemon pepper

Sea salt

1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

½ pound whole-grain or brown rice capellini or spaghetti

3 tbs unsalted butter

2 tbs white balsamic vinegar

Handful of fresh basil leaves, cut into thin slivers

½ cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

Freshly ground pepper

Shaved pecorino, for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat for the capellini. Meanwhile, cut the cauliflower into 1-inch florets, discarding the thick middle stem. Spread the florets on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with the olive oil, coating each piece. Sprinkle with lemon pepper, ½ teaspoon of salt and nutmeg; toss again. Roast, stirring halfway through cooking time, until there are lots of browned caramel-iced spots, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cook the capellini according to instructions. Meanwhile, in a large saute pan over medium heat, warm the butter and swirl it around the pan until it starts to bubble and just begins to smell toasty, about 2 minutes. Turn off heat. Drain pasta, reserving a little of the water. To the pan with the browned butter, add the capellini, a splash of the reserved water, the balsamic vinegar, basil, half of the cauliflower and half of the hazelnuts, and a pinch or two of salt. Toss to combine. Divide capellini among four bowls and top each serving with a portion of the remaining cauliflower and hazelnuts. Add a few grinds of pepper. Garnish with shaved pecorino and serve immediately.